Rod Marsden

Rod Marsden was born in Sydney, Australia. He has three degrees; all related to writing and to history. He spent nine and a half years as a civilian clerk with the Royal Australian Navy. His proudest moments there were in the publications area. He enjoys wildlife photography and in recent years joined Illawarra Birders. His stories have been published in Australia, England, Russia, the USA, and Canada. He has work in the Australian anthology Small Suburban Crimes, the American anthology Cats Do it Better, the American steampunk anthology Break Time, and the Canadian anthologies Morbid Metamorphosis and Grey Matter Monsters – Takers of Souls. Many of his short stories, including “The Antarctic Pineapple,” have been published in Night to Dawn magazine. Undead Reb Down Under and Other Vampire Stories is a collection of his early short fiction on vampirism. His novel Disco Evil is his first venture into the vampire novel. Ghost Dance is his first undertaking into dark fantasy involving a quest plus secret agents out to prevent demonic takeover. It has been reprinted with a new cover. Desk Job is his salute to Lewis Carroll. His short plays, Zombie Vision, Hyde and Seek, and Smarty were well received at Cronulla Arts Theatre, Southcoast, New South Wales, Australia. Both his plays Smarty and Hyde and Seek made it into Sydney’s Short and Sweet contest. He has a short story in The Twofer Compendium edited by Ruth Littner and Ann Stolinsky (2020).

If Helen Kiln wanted a quiet, no-nonsense life she should never have become a psychic for the PSI division of the Sydney, Australia branch of the Secret Compass. Of late there were ghosts to sort out, vampires on the loose, a Gypsy warning to heed and a young man becoming a monster to befriend.

Frank Burkhard, the young man, and Petra Card, a female vampire, were expected in Worms (Voems), Germany where they were hopefully going to save the world. There was also a warlock out to save humanity by killing off a lot of people. In all of this Helen could envisage, through her powers, a dead man about to make a stand.

Ghost Dance now costs $12.95 plus $3.59 shipping. The eBook format of the new edition will be available very soon.

When Paul becomes a vampire, he brings a new technique in curing people of bad manners. He will seek out the destroyers of “make love, not war” and drink their blood. In many cities of the world, he recruits from the living to aid him in his great work. As a walking corpse, he makes his stand – a dead man’s stand.

What would things be like if there really were the unliving among us? It is suggested that you observe the following: Be an undead Confederate soldier in a British colony at the far end of the world. Meet the menace of the undead in the company of the Invisible Compass, an offshoot of Freemasonry or as a member of the Pinkerton Detective agency out of Chicago. Join the Rising Sun Group of modern day samurai and ninja as they strive to wipe out the walking cadaver. Delight in brutally eliminating a Big Aunty Twice Removed contestant show winner. Look into a demon’s heart, find out what a treasure beyond price might happen to be and discover why someone wants to kill the Jocks. Be sure you have a candle to light the way and, if you can’t play the game of empire, there’s always cold comfort to be had.

Undead Reb Down Under Tales costs $14.89 plus $8.99 shipping. You can likely get free shipping through Amazon or Barnes & Noble. For excerpt and reviews, click here.

Lewis Carroll’s Alice thought Wonderland was strange. Sarah Hollingsworth knew her adventures in Office-land were twisted and downright bizarre. The office of the 1990s was a hunting ground where the unprotected were bagged and disposed of. The trick was not to be one of them. Hawks flew high, mules slogged away on their computers and praying mantises searched for prey. Butterflies and moths danced in the neon light. And the old caterpillar looked on passively to various unfolding dramas. Meanwhile, mall rats and lika-lika birds, growing up in this decade, fervently hoped that everything about the office would become more civilized by the time they had to get a DESK JOB. Whether or not the office has really changed much since the 1990s I will leave to you, dear reader, to decide.

50 Dragons: Peace meant sacrifice, and Dreadnought had already sacrificed so much of himself. He was scarred from battle and felt numb from his pain as well as that of others. Then one day, Dreadnought came to stare into the eyes of the statue of King Kamehameha and drew strength from it. Other knights would note this and also draw what they could from the statue of a long-dead Hawaiian warrior. Amelia understood the angst Dreadnought felt as he got closer to his life goal. Would the High Ones allow his final victory and, if they did, what would then happen to him and his love Amelia? Read an excerpt and/or reviews